CHARLOTTE: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump launched campaign blitzes Thursday with dramatically different approaches to attracting swing-state voters who will decide the presidential contest.
In North Carolina, Democratic nominee Harris used rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro to tout endorsements from Republicans who have crossed the aisle to back her. She also promised to protect access to health care and abortion, while delighting her partisan crowds with celebrations of her debate performance Tuesday, taking digs at Trump and cheerleading for her campaign and the country.
“We’re having a good time, aren’t we?” Harris declared, smiling as her boisterous crowd chanted: “USA! USA! USA!”
In the border state of Arizona, the Republican Trump pitched a tax exemption on all overtime wages, adding it to his previous proposals to not tax tip s or Social Security income. But the former president squeezed those proposals, along with a nonspecific pledge to lower housing costs, into a stemwinding speech marked by his most incendiary rhetoric on immigration and immigrants themselves, name-calling of Harris and others, and a dark, exaggerated portrait of a nation Trump insisted is in a freefall only he can reverse.
“I was angry at the debate,” Trump said, mocking commentators’ description of his performance Tuesday. “And, yes, I am angry,” he said, because “everything is terrible” since Harris and President Joe Biden are “destroying our country.” Upon his repeated use of the word “angry,” Trump’s crowd in Tucson answered with its own “USA! USA! USA!” chants.
The competing visions and narratives underscored the starkly different choices faced by voters in the battleground states that will decide the outcome. Harris is casting a wide net, depending on Democrats’ diverse coalition and hoping to add moderate and even conservative Republicans repelled by the former president. Trump, while seeking a broad working-class coalition with his tax ideas, is digging in on arguments about the country — and his political opponents — that are aimed most squarely at his most strident supporters.
That could become a consistent frame for the closing stretch of the campaign after Trump shut the door on another debate. That potentially could have been another seminal moment during a year that already has boomeranged around milestones like Trump’s criminal conviction by a New York jury, Trump surviving an assassination attempt, Biden ending his reelection bid amid questions about his age, and Harris consolidating Democratic support to become the first woman of color to lead a major-party ticket.
“There will be no third debate,” Trump said Thursday, counting his June matchup against Biden in the total, and insisting he had won his lone encounter with Harris on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
The post-debate blitz reflected the narrow path to 270 Electoral College votes for both candidates, with the campaign already having become concentrated on seven swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Harris’ itinerary Thursday put her in a state Trump won twice, but his margin of 1.3 percentage points in 2020 was his closest statewide victory. Arizona, meanwhile, was one of Trump’s narrowest losses four years ago. He won the state in 2016.
In North Carolina, Harris took her own post-debate victory lap, and her campaign already has cut key moments of the debate into ads. But Harris warned against overconfidence, calling herself an underdog and making plain the stakes.
“This is not 2016 or 2020,” she said in Charlotte. “Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.”
She touted endorsements from Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, both of whom have deemed Trump a fundamental threat to American values and democracy.
“Democrats, Republicans and independents are supporting our campaign,” Harris said in Charlotte, praising the Cheneys and like-minded Republicans as citizens who recognize a need to “put country above party and defend our Constitution.”
Yet she also made a full-throated defense of the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law commonly called “Obamacare” and passed over near-unanimous Republican opposition. She mocked Trump, who has spent years promising to scrap the law but said at their debate that he still has no specific replacement plan.
“He said, ‘concepts of a plan,’” Harris said. “Concepts. Concepts. No actual plan. Concepts. ... Forty-five million Americans are insured through the Affordable Care Act. And he’s going to end it based on a concept.”
She saddled Trump again with the Supreme Court’s decision to end a woman’s federal right to abortion, paving the way for Republican-led states to severely restrict and in some cases effectively ban the procedure.
“Women are being refused care during miscarriages. Some are only being treated when they develop sepsis,” Harris said of states with the harshest restrictions.
The vice president added her usual broadsides against Project 2025, a 900-page policy agenda written by conservatives for a second Trump administration. Trump has distanced himself from the document, though there is a notable overlap between it and his policies — and, for that matter, some of the policy aims of Republicans like the Cheneys.
Harris’ approach in Charlotte and Greensboro tracked perhaps her widest path to victory: exciting and organizing the diverse Democratic base, especially younger generations, nonwhite voters and women, while convincing moderate Republicans who dislike Trump that they should be comfortable with her in the Oval Office, some policy disagreements notwithstanding. That’s the same formula Biden used in defeating Trump four years ago, flipping traditionally GOP-leaning states like Arizona and Georgia and narrowing the gap in North Carolina.
Trump, meanwhile, appears to bet that his path back to the White House depends mostly on his core supporters, plus enough new support from working- and middle-class voters drawn to his promises of tax breaks.
A raucous crowd cheered his new pitch to end taxes on overtime wages. In a state where rising housing prices has been an acute issue since the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s audience exulted in his pledge to reduce housing construction costs by “30 to 50 percent” — a staggering drop that he did not detail beyond pledging to cut regulations and ban mortgages “for illegal aliens.”
“We are going to bring back the American dream bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Trump said, beaming.
But he reserved most of 75 minutes at the podium for, in his words, being “angry.” Mostly about an influx of migrants across the US Southern border, but also about the ABC debate moderators he said were unfair in the debate he insisted he won. He singled out Linsey Davis, calling her “nasty” — the same word he would use to describe his 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Trump ticked through many of his usual immigration bromides, arguing that migrants in the US illegally have “taken over” US cities and suburbs. He again alluded to the debunked claims — fueled by right-wing actors on social media — that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating domesticated pets and fowl in public parks. Trump invoked the approval of Hungary’s authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban, and he elicited roars when he promised “largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”
And the former president repeatedly mispronounced Harris’ first name, while insisting she is both a Marxist and a fascist — political ideologies that rest on opposite ends of the left-right political spectrum.
In swing states, Harris touts Republican endorsements while Trump leans into incendiary rhetoric
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In swing states, Harris touts Republican endorsements while Trump leans into incendiary rhetoric
India foreign minister lands in arch-rival Pakistan for rare visit
- Jaishankar’s plane lands just before 3:30 p.m. at an air base near the capital Islamabad
- Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are bitter adversaries with longstanding political tensions
ISLAMABAD: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, the first top Delhi diplomat to visit their arch-rival neighbor in nearly a decade.
Jaishankar’s plane landed just before 3:30 p.m. (1030 GMT) at an air base near the capital Islamabad, a foreign office official said, as state TV showed him receiving a bouquet of flowers from a host delegation that did not include any senior ministers.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are bitter adversaries with longstanding political tensions, having fought three wars and numerous smaller skirmishes since they were carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947.
Relations have been particularly sour since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the limited autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir.
The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in full, with each accusing the other of stoking militancy there.
Modi’s 2019 move was celebrated across India but led Pakistan to suspend bilateral trade and downgrade diplomatic ties with New Delhi.
Indian government spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said this month the agenda of Jaishankar’s visit would strictly follow the SCO schedule, which is due to discuss trade, humanitarian and social issues.
“The Indian foreign minister has not requested a bilateral meeting, nor have we extended an invitation to them,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday.
Islamabad is keen to project an image of stability and security during the conference after a rash of civic unrest in the capital and militant attacks elsewhere across Pakistan in recent weeks.
Former Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj was the last to visit Pakistan in 2015, arriving for a summit on Afghanistan.
Modi also made a surprise visit to Pakistan that year, shortly after taking office for his first term, sparking short-lived hopes of a thaw in relations.
The SCO is a block of 10 nations established by China and Russia, which have used the alliance to deepen their ties with Central Asian states and vie for influence in the region.
However, they have recently pitched the organization as a competitor to the West.
The bloc claims to represent 40 percent of the world’s population and about 30 percent of its GDP, but its members have diverse political systems and even open disagreements with one another.
Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was in Goa last year — also a rare visit — for an SCO meeting where he and Jaishankar were involved in a verbal spat.
It was the first official visit by a senior Pakistani official to their eastern neighbor since 2016, but the two foreign ministers did not hold a one-on-one meeting.
Russian man survives two months adrift on dinghy
- The dinghy was found in the Sea of Okhotsk, around 1,000 kilometers from its starting point
- Russian rescuers had mounted a search using helicopters and a plane for the men a few days after they disappeared
MOSCOW: A Russian man was found alive after drifting for two months on an inflatable boat while another man and a teenage boy died, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The two men and a 15-year-old set off to the Island of Sakhalin from the far eastern Khabarovsk region on August 9, transport prosecutors said.
“After a time, communication with them was lost, their boat’s location remained unknown,” they said.
“On October 14 around 10:00 pm, the boat was discovered as it passed a fishing boat... Two people died, one remained alive, he is receiving medical help,” prosecutors said.
The dinghy was found in the Sea of Okhotsk, around 1,000 kilometers from its starting point.
Prosecutors published a video showing the bearded survivor in a life jacket shouting at the fishermen: “I don’t have much strength” but managing to catch a rope.
The survivor was named by RIA Novosti news agency as Mikhail Pichugin, while his brother Sergei, 49, and nephew Ilya, 15, died. Their bodies were on the boat.
Russian rescuers had mounted a search using helicopters and a plane for the men a few days after they disappeared, suspecting the boat had been carried by currents toward Kamchatka.
Alexei Arykov, the owner of the fishing boat that found the survivor said he was “in a serious condition, thin, but conscious,” RIA Novosti reported.
The boat docked around 0830 GMT in the far eastern city of Magadan and the survivor was carried off on a stretcher, the news agency reported.
The survivor’s wife Yekaterina told RIA Novosti: “It’s a kind of miracle,” adding that the men had taken enough food and water to last only two weeks.
She said her husband’s weight could have helped save him, as “he weighed around 100 kilograms” (220 pounds). Russian television reported he lost 50 kilograms.
The brothers were from Ulan-Ude in Siberia but Mikhail Pichugin was working on Sakhalin as a driver.
He had invited his brother and nephew to visit and they planned a sea trip to see whales, Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid reported, citing relatives.
An expert questioned by RIA Novosti recalled that in 1960, four Soviet soldiers survived 49 days adrift on a small boat in the Pacific Ocean that was found by the US aircraft carrier Keersarge.
Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon
- There are over 1,000 Italian troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanded security guarantees on Tuesday for all her country’s troops deployed in Lebanon, where UN peacekeepers have come under fire during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Italy has troops deployed in the UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL and in a separate mission known as MIBIL which trains local armed forces. There are over 1,000 Italian troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The UN Security Council expressed concern on Monday after several UN peacekeeping positions came under fire in southern Lebanon and urged all parties — without naming them — to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises.
“We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified,” Meloni said, describing it as a “blatant violation” a UN resolution on ending hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
In an address to Italy’s Senate, she said Israel’s actions were not acceptable and that she had expressed this position to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asked whether she was considering a trip to Lebanon, Meloni told reporters: “Yes.”
Netanyahu has denied Israeli troops deliberately targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon and wants the peacekeepers withdrawn from combat zones.
Italy has protested to Israel and joined allies in condemning the attacks on the peacekeepers.
Meloni said Hezbollah had also violated the UN resolution and sought “to militarise the area under UNIFIL’s jurisdiction,” adding that Italy wanted to strengthen the capabilities of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
She also said Rome had not forgotten the attack by Hamas militants on Israeli communities on Oct. 7 last year that sparked the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and that Italy’s thoughts were with the more than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation
- Ministry of Defense review overturns position of previous British government
- Many operatives and their families were forced into hiding after Western withdrawal
LONDON: Hundreds of former members of Afghanistan’s special forces and their families will be resettled in the UK after ministers overturned a decision by the previous government, The Independent reported.
Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard on Monday said 2,000 applicants for relocation, previously rejected by the UK, will have their paperwork reviewed once more following a Ministry of Defense review.
Many of the former special forces operatives and their families were placed at great risk of Taliban reprisal following the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan, with many forced into hiding.
About 25 percent of the 2,000 applications are expected to be overturned amid the release of new evidence demonstrating direct payments from the UK government to Afghan special forces units.
Pollard told the House of Commons: “Officials have now confirmed that there’s evidence of payments from the UK government to members of Afghan specialist units … and for some individuals this demonstrates a direct employment relationship.
“This is evidence that goes beyond previously identified top-up payments and reimbursements for operational expenses, which don’t demonstrate such an employment relationship in themselves.
“This is, of course, contrary to the position reported to Parliament by the previous government that no such evidence of direct employment existed.”
Pollard said the previous government’s position was not a “conscious effort to mislead,” but was part of a “failure to access and share the right digital records … across departmental lines.”
Some former Afghan soldiers who demonstrated ties to the UK in the wake of the Taliban takeover have been housed for years in military bases across Britain. Ministers have said they will soon be moved to appropriate accommodation.
Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts
- The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s incoming president Prabowo Subianto met candidates for senior government posts for a second day on Tuesday, as he seeks to bring the country’s biggest political party into his already dominant parliamentary coalition.
If Prabowo can reach a deal with Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) there would be no opposition parties in parliament, an unprecedented situation since Indonesia began holding direct presidential elections in 2004.
Prabowo, who will be sworn in as president on Oct. 20, summoned over 40 people on Monday who said they had been asked to join the next government, including current finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
On Tuesday, Prabowo summoned dozens of potential deputy ministers, his top aide Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said.
While no lawmakers from the PDI-P had arrived at his house by early afternoon, Prabowo’s party officials have said that he plans to meet PDI-P chief Megawati Sukarnoputri to discuss a possible political alliance.
The timing of a meeting is unclear.
The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda, but it would likely heighten fears about a lack of meaningful checks on Prabowo’s power in a country with a history of authoritarian rule.
Seven of the eight parties in parliament have already joined Prabowo’s coalition, securing him a parliamentary majority.
PDI-P, which won the most seats in the February election, had nominated Prabowo’s predecessor, President Joko Widodo, for president in 2014. But the relationship soured over Widodo’s tacit support for the president-elect during his campaign run.
Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the incoming vice president.
In his second five-year term, Widodo was also supported by most parties in parliament, with only two opposing parties.
Widodo leaves office facing criticism he has tried to change laws to benefit his family, and co-opt state bodies to control his opponents. He denies any impropriety, and has said democracy was thriving and he respects the country’s institutions.
Analysts say they fear what they see as that democratic backsliding may continue under Prabowo, a member of the old elite that previously ruled Indonesia. Prabowo is an ex-special forces commander who was dismissed from the military amid speculation of human rights abuses, assertions he has denied.
In March, Prabowo described democracy as tiring, costly and messy, and said there was room for improvement.